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> In some ways, Starliner is being held to a higher standard than Dragon Crew-2 Maybe. I don't believe that's true, but let's assume it is. They SHOULD be hel
by boxed 2y ago
> In some ways, Starliner is being held to a higher standard than Dragon Crew-2
Maybe. I don't believe that's true, but let's assume it is.
They SHOULD be held to a higher standard. Of the 16 US astronauts that have died in the space program, 14 died on the shuttle which was Boeing. That, coupled with Boeings recent deterioration and demonstrated disregard for human life, makes it clear that Boeing needs to be kept on a short leash.
- HPsquared 2y agoBoeing didn't make the space shuttle.
- big-green-man 2y agoBoeing did largely design build the orbiter, which is the reusable spacecraft that's commonly referred to as the space shuttle, although it was only a part of the entire space shuttle program. Both disasters though were not the fault of the orbiter but caused by failures of the boosters and tank, neither of which were built by Boeing, but these projects are supposed to be designed holistically and so I'd say all the companies involved in that project share responsibility for the shortcomings of the design.
- HPsquared 2y agoRockwell International made the orbiter. Unless they were later merged into Boeing and now perhaps involved in Starliner?
- big-green-man 2y agoYeah, Rockwell was broken up and that part of the company is now Boeing Defense, although i do think Boeing was directly involved in designing of the shuttle back then. Now you've got me wondering if I'm mistaken about that.
- skissane 2y agoIn the early 1970s, NASA had three contractors helping it to design the Space Shuttle: Rockwell, Lockheed, and a Boeing-Grumman joint venture. So Boeing definitely played a role in designing it, although exactly how big its role was in the design, as opposed to the other contractors, I don’t know. https://www.spaceline.org/united-states-manned-space-flight/space-shuttle-program-history/ https://www.spaceline.org/united-states-manned-space-flight/... However, Boeing was not originally one of the main contractors for the actual construction/operation/maintenance of the Space Shuttle. It later became one by buying Rockwell’s space division
- philipwhiuk 2y agoThey love to claim they did as part of their legacy.
- nobleach 2y agoIn the case of the Challenger accident, the actual orbiter wasn't the problem. The seals on the solid rocket boosters were. That said, I don't know who was responsible for their design/manufacture.
- vlachen 2y agoThe teams responsible for their design and manufacture were sounding the alarm about the o-rings being out of their operational envelope. It was management at the manufacturer and NASA that decided to proceed.
- AlgorithmicTime 2y ago[dead]
- Dalewyn 2y agoThiokol[1], who were later bought out by ATK who in turn were bought out by Northrop Grumman. [1]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thiokol https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thiokol
- relbeek2 2y agoThiokol + Hercules = ATK ATK + OribtalSciences = Orbital ATK then NG bought out Orbital ATK
- big-green-man 2y agoWhile I don't disagree with you, I think it's important to point out that 3 american astronauts died during the Apollo 1 ground test.
- itishappy 2y agoAs opposed to SpaceX with literally no history of human rated spaceflight? Neither of these companies have earned reduced standards... Edit: To clarify, this applies to the certification process, not current performance.
- cptskippy 2y agoThey've launched 12 crew missions in the last 44 months putting 46 people in orbit.
- itishappy 2y agoRight, but first they certified it for human-rated spaceflight by scrutinizing it very closely and testing it very rigorously.
- cptskippy 2y agoThey certified a modification to an existing spacecraft that was already proven. Starliner is a bespoke from scratch vehicle.
- itishappy 2y agoAre you suggesting they did or should have relaxed the human-rated spaceflight certification standards for Crew Dragon?
- cptskippy 2y agoNo, they actually have made them go through more rigor than Starliner has been subject to. What I'm saying is that Dragon was built upon an existing proven platform. The effort needed to convert the cargo module for human spaceflight is less than the effort Boeing needed to create a module from scratch. AND SpaceX still had to go through more rigor with Crew Dragon than what Boeing has had to do with Starliner. The certification standards for Starliner have been reduced compared to Dragon, and Boeing is asking for them to be reduced further still.